diable rouge

Johnson with his 'text leak' investigation once again showing he's more concerned with being found out than the actual dodgy behaviour of politicians, par for the course for someone who doesn't like scrutiny and accountability. We saw post-referendum how politicians have changed with respect to parliamentary accountability and our unwritten constitution which relies on politicians' integrity and adherence to the norms. The modern day politician, and this PM and Gov in particular, have become shameless because they've been clapped and cheered on for political bias over Brexit. This is a good article by Jill Rutter highlighting that a tougher independent set of rules is needed, but don't hold your breath while Johnson is PM... The UK?s system for ensuring the principles of public life are observed in practice is looking increasingly unfit for purpose. An ex-PM bombards his colleagues with pleading messages to help a company in which he has a significant personal stake. A needy current PM assures a donor and supporter via text that he will ensure the Chancellor will fix the tax system for him. And people inside the system sign each other off doing things which seem to have at the very least a serious conflict of interest. As Eric Pickles told the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, this suggests a system where one cohort looks after another, in the expectation they will later benefit. The system has never been free from lobbying ? it has always taken place. It?s always been open to businesses to put their case to the Government. Indeed it is perfectly legitimate for Dyson to highlight the fact that a feature of the tax system is impeding their (failed) participation in the Government?s ventilator challenge, and suggest the Treasury might change it. Ministers often return from receptions (when they were allowed) asking officials to investigate a suggestion that someone buttonholed them with over the canapes, or with a wheeze that has been put to them by a constituent. The first question is therefore whether we can trust the people on the receiving end of that lobbying to treat it appropriately ? to ensure issues are decided on their merits and with no hint of the ?improper influence? or ?favours?. But beyond a general exhortation to uphold the ?highest standards? of propriety, the Ministerial Code is notably silent on the sorts of concerns raised recently. Moreover, the UK?s Ministerial Code has no real status. It can be rewritten by the Prime Minister. It could be withdrawn by the Prime Minister if it proved too annoying. As we saw with concerns about Robert Jenrick and the Westferry planning decision, which benefited a Conservative donor, the PM decides whether investigations are needed; and, as we discovered in the Priti Patel case, the PM decides whether the code has been broken and whether that breach requires any sanctions. That is a contrast to Northern Ireland, where the ministerial code is now to be enforced by the independent standards commissioner who oversees MLAs ? this was one of the procedural reforms resulting from the renewable heat incentive scandal which triggered the collapse of the Northern Ireland executive. The Chair of the Committee on Standards of Public Life (set up in the wake of the sleaze revelations in the Major government) has already proposed strengthening the status and role of the independent adviser on ministerial interests ? not least by letting them decide whether to initiate an inquiry rather than wait for a request from the PM, and allowing them to publish a summary of their findings when they decide, rather than the PM.

Spooky!...

Week 30 fixtures... Friday 23rd April Arsenal v Everton Saturday 24th April Liverpool v Newcastle United West Ham United v Chelsea Sheffield United v Brighton & Hove Albion Sunday 25th April Wolverhampton Wanderers v Burnley Leeds United v Manchester United Aston Villa v West Bromwich Albion Monday 26th April Leicester City v Crystal Palace

Week 29 points... Week 29 table...

New London mayor poll: (Comres) Sadiq Khan (LAB): 41% Shaun Bailey (CON): 28% Luisa Porritt (Lib): 8% Sian Berry (GRN): 6% Niko Omilana (IND): 5% Farah London: (IND) : 2% Brian Rose: (IND): 2% Count Binface (CBP): 1% Peter Gammons (UKIP): 1% Laurence Fox (REC): 1% I'm not sure how Count Binface will ever be able to show his face if he ends up drawing with Fox...

Well, at least it was more entertaining than a lot of the football that's served up...

It's quite clear now that the CSL was a front for a disparate group of renegade posters trying to take over the forum... #Cock-UpSuperLeague

''Were either of the claims that we would require an "Emergency Budget" where public services would be slashed and taxes would be raised immediately after a leave vote was returned or the claim that every household would be would be ?4,300pa worse off meaningfully less 'deceitful' than "?350m for the NHS"??'' Didn't the Tresury forecast came with two caveats, namely it was based on A50 immediately being triggered after the vote, and that the BoE wouldn't intervene fiscally, neither of which happened, rendering forecast null and void? Also, wasn't the ?4300 figure based on this... The analysis finds that the annual loss of GDP per household after 15 years under the three proposed models for an alternative to EU membership would be as follows: ?2,600 in the case of EEA membership ?4,300 in the case of a negotiated bilateral agreement ?5,200 in the case of WTO membership Meanwhile, has anyone seen the Brexit bus lately?...

An analysis of the numbers that doesn't merit a D- in mathematics... https://institute.global/policy/project-fear-or-project-fact-how-eu-trade-has-fared-months-following-single-market-exit Leaving aside the arithmetically challenged, you'll find over the coming months/years that advocates of Brexit will promote a lot of 'UK versus EU' data as some sort of justification, but the reality is that the EU as a whole wasn't and never will be our main economic competitor, rather it has always been about how we perform against our traditional economic rivals like Germany and France. That's the true test of Brexit, it's how we compare against them not the the whole 27 states that matters, just as it did when we were in the EU. And when you look at the actual market share of how the UK and Germany have performed since Brexit, it paints a very different picture than the one they want you to see...

The grotesque underhand tactics of the CSL come as no surprise. Most of the 'Big 6' long ago sold their soul to the world of franchise and stuck two fingers up to tradition when changing their original names, and in some cases, upped sticks to pastures new, leaving their fanbase emotionally distraught and homeless. Mockney Piers Dons, so much to answer for...

Me neither, there's no way I'm joining a breakaway thread with it's fancy dan ideas of balanced arguments...

Whatever happens, Spurs will always be Spursy. A week before their first domestic final in 6 years, Spurs 'qualify' for the European Super League and then promptly sack their manager...

Since malumbu has started a closed shop thread about a closed shop European Super League, I'll vent my spleen here. MONEY. GRABBING. FUCKERS...

No, never listened to that programme, maybe I should!...

Week 29 fixtures... Friday 16th April Everton v Tottenham Hotspur Saturday 17th April Newcastle United v West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers v Sheffield United Sunday 18th April Arsenal v Fulham Manchester United v Burnley Monday 19th April Leeds United v Liverpool Tuesday 20th April Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion Wednesday 21st April Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton Aston Villa v Manchester City Thursday 22nd April Leicester City v West Bromwich Albion

It's obviously a difficult balancing act as pubs/hospitality have been hit hard, but it does strike me as paradoxical that the demographic most likely to frequent pubs/bars will be one of the last to get the jab and all that entails, e.g. the risks of new variants forming...

Just looked at the overall leaderboard, Parky is 7th, which is very good going this stage of the season...

Game over. Week 28 points... Week 28 table...

Yep, forget Fatsia, scale of leaf too small, more likely a type of Ivy as above...

Looks like Fatsia Japonica, this shows the flowers before the berries form...

A long read but goes into detail (if only Brexit had done likewise) about the pros and cons of an Indy Scotland rejoining the EU... https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/scotland_eu_border.pdf

The other parties need to form some kind of alliance/electoral pact, something that should've happened between Corbyn and Swinson over Brexit had their egos not got in the way...

Sephiroth Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm finding the West Ham season to be one of the > few bright spots of last 12 months - good on 'em Yep, good to see the top 4 shaken up a bit, especially if it will be at the expense of a certain team at the other end of the East Lancs Road...